Premise
° Tsukasa gets grounded and misses the school dance; you stop by to check on him
2832 words
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Tsukasa wasn't stupid, but he had done alot of stupid things in his life.
When he was two he got into another mom's stroller and went home with her just because, unlike his own mother, she bought name-brand juice boxes. When he was six he had convinced himself to eat an entire box of cereal to get to the prize at the bottom, when he could have just flipped the box over and gotten in the prize belly-ache free. When he was ten he triggered the sprinkler systems in the grocery store because he was thirsty and didn't want to drink from the water fountain.
And now, as a thirteen year old, Tsukasa had put old Halloween candies in the showerheads in the boys locker room; of course, he got caught after the teacher's realized that every single boy-besides him-was covered in a layer of sticky syrup after showering.
This little stunt was the one that got him temporality suspended for a week and grounded for an entire month.
And of course, he just had to get himself in trouble the day before the school dance.
Now what were you supposed to do? Go alone? The only reason you wanted to go to that stupid dance in the first place was because both you and Tsukasa were going to spray Kool-aid from above and stain everyone's outfits.
So now you were just expected to go to the dance and...what? dance? Despite how absolutely boring that sounded you couldn't just not go. Your mother had already bought your ticket and dress. It would have been real suspicious that you didn't want to go the second Tsukasa got suspended.
You might have been best friends but he was known as the biggest troublemaker in school. You were just like his little assistant who, unlike him, never got caught. And you'd like to keep it that way.
So when your mother dropped you off at the dance you awkwardly shuffled inside, spent about half an hour there, and then realized your brain was basically melting from all of the teenage hormones packed together in one room like sardines. So you snuck out of the dance-dress and all-and walked over to Tsukasa's house which was luckily just a street over.
You didn't see any cars in the driveway and remembered that Tsukasa's parents were actually some of the adults that supervised the event. (Now you're starting to realize why Tsukasa wanted to do that Kool-aid prank so bad)
Soundlessly turning the knob, wary of creaking hinges-and surprised that it was unlocked in the first place, you poked your head inside the house.
A lamp near the record player painted everything in a soft gold light. Strewn haphazardly over one of the chairs, sat Tsukasa. His back was facing you while he looked out of the window with a troubled demeanor.
Quiet as a shadow-something you learned thanks to all the sneaking around you two have doing-, you stepped in. His brown hair was tousled slightly, his legs dangled over the armrest, clad in flannel pajama pants coupled with a white tank top. A restless growl escaped him, eyes closed, head tilting back, and you watched his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed. His hands ran tiredly over his face. Something was troubling him indeed.
Feeling suddenly like you were intruding on something private, you cleared your throat. "I told you not to get in trouble didn't I?"
Tsukasa grabbed the chair like it was all that anchored him down, gauging his surroundings before turning to you perplexingly, as if unsure you were real. Two more seconds, and he came to some conclusion, lapsing back into his original position, albeit a bit more tensed.
"You need to wear a bell around your neck" he says.
and as an afterthought, he spoke, "It was worth it to see their faces. Tell me, is it true that Stevie Wilks had to shave his head because he couldn't get the melted caramel out?"
"Yeah, he looks like a golf ball now. Still smells like caramel too"
Tsukasa laughed, but he didn't elaborate on it, swinging his legs from the armrest to the actual seat of the chair to face you. "How was the dance?"
You shut the front door and claimed the chair adjacent his. "Not bad. You know Larry? He got pissed because Diana was at the dance with his brother so he dumped the whole punch bowl on them"
Tsukasa smiled so widely that his eyes were nothing more than slits.
"I would've killed to see that. Sounds like a good night" he's rolling his head over to look at the clock "so is it over already?" Obviously wondering why you were in his living room, clad in dance attire, if it wasn't.
"No... But I can only listen to teenagers argue for so long before I go crazy"
And because I missed you, you bit back.
"A sledgehammer does wonders for that." He snorted at the playful glare you sent him before his smile fell. His fingers began picking at loose strands of fabric on the chair. "Did you, uh, dance with a lotta losers fishing for a date?"
An emotion you can't place washes over his face.
You don't put much thought into it.
"Not many, thankfully. I'm not much of a dancer, anyway"
Tsukasa hummed as if you were misinformed and he was debating correcting you. "Really? The way you can sneak into someone's house, I woulda' thought dancing would come natural"
Your ears grew hot and you threw a throw pillow his way.
"Shut up, the door was unlocked... And it's not like I can't dance, I just don't do it alot and the people at our school are exactly good at it either" you cringed at the memory of one of the young men tonight; only by excellent reflexes and a minor miracle had you avoided getting every bone in your foot fractured. "Slow dancing is pretty much the best I got"
Tsukasa, with 'ah-ha!' eyes, jutted a finger out like you'd substantiated his point. "You see! That's boringgg. No wonder you don't like dancing, you've never done anything fun"
Your chest puffed defensively. "Well Mr. Know-it-all, what is 'Fun' dancing?"
"I dunno... the swing? Something involving more than three moves."
"There are many slow dancing moves tha-" your brain short circuited "Wait. You know the swing?"
Tsukasa twiddled his thumbs back and forth like he was keeping an secret
"Maybe? So what if I do?"
Your mouth bobbed like a fish out of water.
"Wha-...how?"
"Hey, I have hobbies. My entire life doesn't revolve around you, you know" he teased.
"Just most of it does" you hum.
"Just most of it does" Tsukasa agrees.
You two stare at each other for a moment, grinning.
"So your idea of a good hobby was swing dancing?" You ask
Tsukasa can sense some judgmentalness. He quips,
"Better than slow dancing"
With a shrewd arch of your brow, you shrug "If you say so"
Tsukasa challenges that look in your eyes. And he's straightening up in his seat as if he were at a job interview.
"I have a proposition"
The excitement radiating off of his body was something to be weary about. Anyone intent on keeping all four of their limbs better steer clear of Tsukasa when he was wearing that mischievous little smile.
"It doesn't involve fire does it?"
Tsukasa's mouth shuts close and he shrinks in his seat, looking utterly defeated. After a pause he gives you a look like a guilty puppy.
"I have an alternate proposition"
You let your silence egg him on. Brown eyes narrowed to slits, taking you in from head to toe, rapidly juggling unknown variables.
It was a face you knew normally preceded phrases like 'You know what this situation needs? More paint,' or 'Release the glue and feathers!' or something equally ill-conceived.
Then Tsukasa was in front of you, grinning big enough to brighten the entire room. "Give me your hand." His hand extended, palm up.
Alarms sounded in your head. "I beg your pardon?"
Tsukasa reiterated, unwavering. "You heard me. What, you scared?"
Yes. "Scared you'll break my foot and then decide to shut me up by killing me"
"I think we both know I could never kill you. You'd haunt me for the rest of my life-totally wouldn't be worth it" Tsukasa curled his finger to a 'come hither' motion with a giggle.
"Tsukasa, don't forget my mom thinks I'm at the dance"
"It won't end for another hour, you have time. Now stop stalling you big baby"
Tsukasa was your best friend, your partner in crime (literally) so you knew better than anyone that being close to him... It was dangerous. It was stupid. But it was the most tempting thing you'd heard all night. "I..." you wanted to... you shouldn't. "I think I'd better-"
"Y/n" His voice was a hush, tinted with a smile, oddly raspy as his hand remained patiently offered, neither advancing nor retreating. "Dance with me" It was soft. Not commanding. Not questioning either. But it tugged at you like a spell; you took his hand unthinkingly-and immediately disengaged to move to the record player.
"Fine. But you'll need to make do with a slow beat. I don't trust you to not throw me through a window if the beat picks up"
"You think so ungentlemanly of me, m'lady"
"Tsukasa, last week you almost pushed me off of the roof because I beat you in tug a war. I'm allowed to think that way"
Tsukasa mumbled something along the lines of
"I wasn't actually gonna do it"
You rummaged through a few old records that his parents had collected over the years until you found one with an assortment of songs that should accommodate a medium pace. You placed the disc on the record player and shifted the needle to something suitable. "Will this do?"
The first few notes of a slow song began playing; Tsukasa assessed, then nodded approvingly. "It'll be sorta slow, but since you think I'm gonna break your legs that'll work, yeah"
You scarcely had time to straighten before Tsukasa towed you into the room by the wrist. He grinned roguishly, offering a hand in a way that was probably meant to be effectively gallant, but if you didn't know better, you'd say there was a dusting of red over his cheeks.
You took one hand, then the other, and a strange tingle worked like lightning up your spine; you inhaled sharply, checking if he'd noticed. Tsukasa appeared peculiarly numb to the world, hazily focused on your joined hands. Heat spread over every inch of your face; you coughed pointedly, anything to divert from... from how perfectly perfect you were feeling.
Tsukasa jolted, grin snapping back like a rubber band. "Uh, right. So the basic move is..." His eyes went back down like a magnet, he swallowed thickly-throat bobbing in a way that... definitely wasn't distracting you. Callused fingers tightened around you, dragging with agonizing sweetness over your knuckles. "Well... maybe it'd be easier to show you." Shaking his head as if clearing a fog, a mischievous glint sprung to life in his eyes.
Then he was moving. You fixated staunchly on his feet, on the steady push and pull enticing you to him and away again. He allotted the courtesy of a moment to study the basics, and you focused on the music, glowing happily: you were getting the hang of it.
Premature triumph, as it happened. Tsukasa chuckled, "Stop being so stiff. Put your hips into it, c'mon now" he gave you a gentle pinch.
"Hey!" Your head whipped up, a retort pending, and then you were spun around Tsukasa's body
"That's better" His smugness was tangible, he tugged you closer, reaching to grab your other hand. "Just relax" he purred, breath ghosting past your ear, and it was all the warning you got before you were moving in a tangle of limbs, switching places too quickly for you to interpret even with the slow song.
Your back was to his, his arms around yours-over you-now he was behind you, you were spinning, and now your backs were facing each other again; you barely managed to fall into step. Tsukasa laughed at your stunned expression, and you got the impression the entire past twenty seconds were meant to rattle you. Bastard.
"You're quiet. What's on your mind?" Tsukasa hummed against your neck.
This time you anticipated his punitive tug, twisting into him effortlessly, flush against his side for one delirious second before his arm encircled you and lead you into a dip.
"Me, I hope" he says.
When you were vertical again, chest to chest with the Tsukasa, he smirked in arrant satisfaction.
"You would like that, wouldn't you?" You breathed
"Very much yes"
You deadpanned.
"What would I do without you?"
He spun you one last time. "Dance alone, probably"
"God forbid that" You laugh.
Your bodies stilled as the music died, chests heaving.
"I admit, that was fun" you exhaled.
Tsukasa flushed pleasantly, a gratified smirk on his lips. You trailed the curve of his lips to his unruly hair. A strand or two hung over his forehead, rakish and charming; you wanted to reach up, brush it back, drag your fingers through every inch of it until...until-
Tsukasa was looking at something.
Your followed his gaze to your hands, still joined.
You knew you were playing a dangerous game and went along with it anyway. This was your own fault.
"Well I...better go now"
Tsukasa's heart lurched when you pulled back; his brows furrowed as if pained, his grip like a vise. He moved with you, taking a step closer to you instead of letting you pull away. finally glancing back up with such raw vulnerability that your chest ached.
"Y/n"
"They...they might have refilled the punch bowl by now" you spoke much too quickly, wincing at yourself.
Tsukasa's brows furrowed-damn his eyes were so beautiful. Did he know how beautiful they were? His thumb brushed tiny circles on your wrist; you suppressed a shudder, choking down a little whine. It was too much. It was all too much. You needed-
"You can go, I won't stop you, but I need to tell you something first...please"
His hands withdrew and you realized he was being genuine. He wasn't trying to keep you here to get the last word-so unlike him to be this mature.
When you stared at him again, he stepped back, and you had an instant to see something almost like pained resignation flash across his features before a shadow descended completely.
"Okay. Hear me out? I think I'm-I think I might...love you? I mean, I don't think that, I know. I love you. I'm.. I'm in love with you"
He looks down at his hands because he's so fucking scared to look up and see what face you're making
"That's what I wanted to tell you before but-but I'm kind of shit with words, and sometimes I say things I don't mean to, or people take stuff I do say in the wrong way and I end up coming off like a dick-"
Oh, God, he's shaking. His hands are shaking; they're trembling, little spasms ricocheting through his nervous system. He clasps them together tightly and closes his eyes.
"I get it if you don't feel the same, I tease you a lot and I'm- I'm always getting in trouble and messing stuff up...so I get it. But I like you, y/n"
You can see pure emotion in his eyes and every cell in your body that once told you to flee is begging you to stay.
"I mean-I love you, and I wanna watch movies with you, and-shit, I dunno-I wanna meet your dad, and talk to your mom-they probably won't like me, but hey- and I wanna go on dates with you, proper dates, and I wanna hold your hand and kiss you, and-fuck, I want to kiss you senseless, y/n, you have no idea what you do to me"
He's pacing now; eyes squeezed shut and you're scared he might bump into something.
"So-so I guess what I'm trying to say is.." Tsukasa opens his eyes and if he actually glanced up at you he'd see you moving towards him "You're it. You're it for me-you're the one, y/n"
"Tsukasa, for once stop talking"
And before Tsukasa could stutter out a response-you press your hands against his cheeks and pull him in for a kiss.
"𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐑𝐎𝐁𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐘! 𝐏𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐆!"
( う-')づ︻╦̵̵̿╤── \(˚☐˚")/ ★
"𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳!"
"𝐆𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐍𝐎 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐒 𝐇𝐔𝐑𝐓!"